Origins of Golf
The first published reference to
golf is an edict issued in 1457 by James II of Scotland, in which
he banned the playing of golf since it was competing for the
attention of his subjects with archery practice (a skill more
important to the kingdom in those times). The game of golf, as
developed in Scotland, seems to have originated in Holland where
a similar game, colf, was played on ice. Scottish tradesmen
probably imported the game to their own country, where the character
of the game was developed. It was in Scotland that the basic
features of modern golf, hitting a ball cross-country into a hole
in the ground, were established.
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